Technological Field
The present disclosure relates generally to vehicular equipment and accessories and more particularly, but not exclusively to a locking and/or parking brake for a vehicle wheel or axle.
Description of Related Technology
Vehicle parking brakes are known. While their general purpose is to stop a vehicle from moving while it is parked, due to prior art design constraints and limitations, modern parking brakes generally operate as an auxiliary (as opposed to an independent) mechanism to the existing braking system. For example, they can be a cable operated system to activate the hydraulic drum brakes or disc brake callipers normally used for general braking of a vehicle. As such, they can be readily deactivated to allow the vehicle to be driven. Where there is repetitive use resulting in normal wear and tear, parking brake mechanisms have to be routinely maintained and adjusted to affect safe and full operational service.
Parking brakes however are unsuitable where total vehicle immobility and security are required. This is of particular importance in towed vehicles such as boat trailers, tradesman's work trailers and caravans which are often stolen by the deactivation of their braking or immobilisation apparatus. The obvious prior art solution to this problem is the wheel clamp. Applying a wheel clamping device to a vehicle wheel is time consuming, especially for tradespeople who have to visit several worksites in a day, and can be difficult for the elderly or disabled to use.
One example and possibly the closest prior art to the present disclosure is that disclosed by GB2276597A (Miles et. al.). This patent discloses a wheel clamping device, particularly to prevent the theft of a trailer. It includes an electrically operable means in the form of an electromagnet mounted on the axle of a vehicle adjacent a wheel to be clamped. The electromagnet, in effect a solenoid, causes a locking pin to be held in a withdrawn position when the solenoid is energized and to engage an aperture in a locking plate attached to the wheel when the solenoid is de-energized.
The major disadvantage with this prior art device is that the locking pin will engage the locking plate as soon as the solenoid is de-energized. This can have disastrous consequences if the power supply fails when the vehicle is moving. In the patent, there is a description of a mechanical failsafe device to prevent this from happening when the vehicle is moving. The necessity and inconvenience of having to operate a separate failsafe device makes this invention too cumbersome and complicated a solution to the problem. In addition, the possibility of failing to remember to operate the “failsafe” device is itself a highly dangerous factor.
It is therefore an object of the present disclosure to ameliorate some or all of the above disadvantages of the prior art by providing a novel and innovative vehicle locking and/or parking brake which avoids or ameliorates the problems of the prior art.